This project is designed to engage residents in improving their community. A Community Coordinator will work with residents to empower them to speak out about problems in the community as well as to identify solutions. That Coordinator will also engage agencies, both public and private, that serve that community and assist them in hearing resident feedback and making needed improvements. This project will work with communities in the I-275 corridor, where rates of poverty, crime, domestic violence and removal of children due to child abuse/neglect are the highest in the County. Members of these communities are likely to have high numbers of ACES and to be impacted by the high levels of community violence. Residents will design the intervention, addressing issues that are important to them and bringing in improvements that they believe will be helpful.
Level(s) of Social Ecological Model
This proposed project will utilize a community level of the social ecological model to address community violence in Hillsborough County (CDC). As community violence does not have one cause, or one solution, it is important to look to the community to identify both the problems and the solutions. The Community Coordinator will work to improve the social relationships between the residents and those agencies that serve the community. The residents have a level of distrust of almost all of the government and non-government agencies and programs in the area. This will be addressed by the Community Coordinator by facilitating conversations and helping the agencies see where improvements can be made. We will also work to impact the physical environment, with guidance from community residents. Sidewalks are impassable at spots, neighborhood parks are in disrepair and neighborhood services are difficult to access. Since the issues facing this community are ingrained and systemic, it will be necessary to focus on the community level to impact change.
Trauma-Informed Principals
As this project is addressing community violence, it is clear that Safety is a key issue and will be addressed throughout the project. Community residents are concerned about safety, and early conversations initiated by the Community Coordinator will focus on this universal concern. Safety will be promoted by establishing Trust and Transparency, as residents are more likely to trust people who are open and honest. Information about the project will be shared with the residents and the community agencies so that trust can be developed. It is recognized that since there is a long history of distrust, it will be important to continue this open-ness throughout. By building community networks, Peer Support and Self Help will be intentional components of this process. As residents become acquainted with each other and develop trust, they will likely support each other in many ways. The Community Coordinator will promote Collaboration and Mutuality by valuing the contribution made by each member of the team, both residents and agencies. Power to effect growth will be shared among each team member, with each recognized for their unique contribution to the total. This Empowerment will also be supported by encouraging residents to share their experience of the problems in the community and their ideas for solutions. Cultural, historic and gender issues are seen in the often unspoken histories of communities and the people in them. (SAMHSA) The Community Coordinator will address this history in a way that recognizes the impact but does not lead to blame and anger.
Public Health Framework
This project will utilize a Tertiary model of intervention. The area being addressed has significant issues around community violence that will be the focus of intervention. Outcomes will focus on both mental and physical health. As the levels of community violence decrease, the mental and physical health of the residents is expected to increase. As part of involving the residents in developing the solutions, it is anticipated that some of the interventions will include things such as increased access to safe and clean parks that will increase physical activity and relaxation. It is also likely that increased community safety will lend to building social relationships that provide support to each other, which increases feelings of connectedness and belonging.
As changing a community culture can take many years, initial outcomes will focus on involvement of the residents in the process, agencies agreeing to participate and how involved the Community Coordinator is in building networks. When the community violence is reduced and residents are feeling safe and supported, Primary Prevention interventions will be provided to families in order to prevent exposure to abuse, violence and other ACES.
References
Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfa...ntyflorida/PST120218
Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfa...ntyflorida/PST120218
Retrieved from https://www.myflfamilies.com/p...board/c-in-ooh.shtml
Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violencepr...ecologicalmodel.html
OJJDP Working for Youth Justice and Safety Juvenile Justice Bulletin, Abrams et al, June 2013
SAMHSA’s Trauma and Justice Strategic Initiative, SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach, July 2014
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